


The Story of Our Life

by Jakebroe



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, shumako
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26679649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakebroe/pseuds/Jakebroe
Summary: This has been an idea I've been wanting to write about since I started writing. I hope you enjoy it.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Kudos: 32





	The Story of Our Life

_5 years ago:_

Ren and Makoto were sitting on the couch, watching a movie together, under a shared blanket. Ren put his arm around Makoto and she placed her head on his shoulder. She looked up to him, seeing his smile and the two shared a quick kiss. Ren wasn’t satisfied with just one, so he pulled her in and kissed her again. This time, he was sure to show her how he felt. As the two were making out, however, Sae opened the door and stared at the two, her eyes wide open in disbelief. Makoto was trying to hide her embarrassment by hiding behind the blanket, while Ren’s face was pale and blank as he stared at Sae’s angry face.

"What's the meaning of this?" she asked, almost yelling.

"W-well, u-umm," Makoto said, trying to explain herself to her sister.

"Makoto, go to your room,” Sae demanded, pointing down the hall. “And Ren,” she said, grabbing his arm, “you're coming with me.”

Makoto looked to Ren, who gave a reassuring nod and smile, then ran to her room and slammed the door behind her while her sister dragged Ren out the door.

Sae brought Ren to Leblanc; she wasn't so cruel as to not bring him somewhere he'd feel comfortable before interrogating him again.

"Oh, Ren, glad you’re here,” Sojiro said with a grin. “Come help me clea-," he stopped before he can finish his sentence after seeing that Sae was _not_ happy. "Oh, just be sure to clean up when you two have finished chatting," he said. The look on the prosecutor’s face was similar to the ones he had received when he was a young bachelor, so he knew what was about to happen. As he walked to the door, he looked at Ren, gave him a small smile, then walked outside and locked the café door.

Sae took a look at Ren, then said, in an authoritative tone, "Tell me, what was that about at my apartment?"

"We were watching a movie together," Ren responded. He wasn't lying, but he knew that's not the answer she was looking for.

"Cut the crap!" she said, slamming her hand on the table, causing the nearby stack of plates to shake. Ren immediately had flashbacks to his interrogation after being caught by the police.

"Well, remember when I told you during your investigation that I had a girlfriend?" Ren said, his voice shaking.

Sae sat there, wide-eyed and in disbelief. "You mean... you're dating _Makoto_?" she said, stunned.

Ren looked at her, afraid for his life, and said, with a trembling voice, "Y-yeah, you didn't ask then, so I didn't get the chance to tell you." He finally caught his breath, then continued, "To be honest, I was terrified to say anything after, too. Especially after the way you reacted when I told you she was working with us as the Phantom Thieves."

Sae sat there, shocked. There was an awkward silence between the two. Ren would normally try to interject and say something, but he had nothing; he was terrified.

After a couple of minutes of silence between the two, Sae finally found the words she was looking for.

"What are your intentions with her?" she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ren replied, "I love her. I want to be there for her."

Sae glared at him. She was not impressed by that answer. "Don't give me that crap," she said, sternly.

Ren, frightened, quickly responded, "Look, I love Makoto and I would never try to hurt her. There isn't anything in the world I wouldn't do for her."

"Nothing?" Sae responded.

Ren immediately replied, "If it meant that Makoto would be safe, I would kill someone. That’s how much I love her.”

Sae was taken aback at his response; it was not what she was expecting. Ren sat back, stunned that he just said that. He took a moment to process what he just said before continuing.

"I promise," he said. "I want to protect her, no matter what."

Sae could sense the sincerity in his voice. She sat back down and looked at him. After hearing that, she saw a little bit of her father in him. She had already seen how far he'd go to protect the ones he cared for. After all, he spent more than a month in juvenile hall after saving the world.

"Alright. I see that you're serious about this," she said. "But so help me, if you hurt her, I will be the last thing you ever see. Got it?" Ren sat there, stunned at what was just said to him.

He gave a nod and said, "I understand, completely." Sae sat back, and caught her breath. After the two had relaxed for a moment, Ren offered to make her a coffee, which she declined, citing that it was getting late. Ren wished her a good night and saw her out the door. As soon as she left, he texted Makoto

"Everything is alright."

"Ren! Thank goodness. I was worried that Sis had hurt you."

"No. She just wanted to make sure we were alright. I told her what I told you when we started dating; I will do anything to protect you. She scared me, but I think she understands now."

"That's great to hear. I love you, Ren."

"I love you too, Mako. Get some rest. I'll text you in the morning. Goodnight."

Ren turned his phone off and sat in the empty café to collect his thoughts before cleaning and heading upstairs to his attic bedroom for the night.

_Present:_

Ren had been saving for so long for a ring, but he finally had enough. He worked a part time job, a full time job, on top of being in university still, just to save up for a ring for his Queen. He went to the jeweler and bought a ring that Makoto had been looking at the last time they were on one of their dates in Kichijoji. It had a fairly large diamond on a gold band. Ren was willing to do it, though, because she means so much more to him than any sort of price.

Next stop, Sae Niijima's apartment. He knew Sae was off from work and that Makoto wouldn't be back until the evening for dinner, so it was the perfect timing. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

Sae opened the door and, surprised, said, "Ren. I'm sorry but Makoto isn't back yet."

"I know," he replied, "Would you mind grabbing a cup of coffee with me? I need some help.

Sae looked at the clock, nodded her head, grabbed her coat, and the two went to Leblanc. Ren asked Sojiro for permission to use the press, which he was granted, then made a cup of coffee for each of them. He placed them down, took a sip, then very carefully recited the words he had practiced the night before.

"So, do you remember when you first caught me and Makoto on the couch?"

Sae looked at him, a bit confused, but recalled the second interrogation she gave him after finding the two of them together on her sofa.

"What about it?" she asked.

"I said that I'd promise to protect her, no matter what," he said. Sae looked at him, hoping that he wasn't about to confess to being unfaithful, but was shocked when he pulled a navy blue box out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of her.  
"I want to make sure that I keep that promise," he said.

Sae sat there, stunned, and at a complete loss for words. She wasn't expecting him to say anything close to what he just said.

When she finally regained her composure, she said to him, "Come with me. There’s two people I want you to meet."

She led him to a cemetery and, after a bit of walking around, they stopped.

Sae gestured toward the stone to her left and said, "Go ahead. Say that again, now that we're all here."  
Ren looked down and saw Sae and Makoto’s parents’ names on the stone. After taking a deep breath, he repeated how he wanted to marry Makoto, now in front of her parents. Sae looked toward the stone, which bore the insignia of the Tokyo police department next to her father’s name, as if she was looking for advice.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then said to Ren, "You remind me a lot of my father; you're gentle and kind. But what reminds me the most of him is your determination to see justice done to those who have hurt the ones you hold close." She walked towards him, smiled, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "You have our blessing."

Ren, overcome with emotion, hugged her and thanked her, tears running down his face. 

"Th-thank you... Sis," he said. Normally, he used that name teasingly, but he meant it this time. He was so happy to hear her say that she accepted him the first time, but now he felt so much happier, because he finally felt like he had a real family.

Going back to when he was falsely accused back in 2016, Ren's father basically left him for dead. He still called his mother often, but he still felt as if he was still an orphan when he went back home. When she passed away, he was left with no immediate family, just Makoto. Now, he thought, he finally had his own family. He and Sae walked back to the apartment before Makoto returned for dinner. Sae asked if he'd like to join them for dinner, but he politely declined, his emotions were running wild and he didn't think he could focus right at that moment. He wished her a good night, and walked back to Leblanc.

When he walked into the café, Sojiro was still cleaning. He took a quick look to see who it was, then laughed when he saw Ren with a huge smile on his face.

"What's that goofy look for?" Sojiro asked, laughing.

Ren, still smiling, said, "It's nothing," sat down and took the box out of his pocket, admiring it and the ring inside.

Sojiro saw him take the box out and smiled.

"Ahh," he said. "Planning something big?"

Ren chuckled and said, "Yeah, I guess you can say that."

He examined the ring and started thinking of what to do. Sojiro grabbed two bottles of sake, handed one to Ren, then offered to help him plan everything out.

"Just let me know the day," he said. "I'm sure my contacts will remember me."

The two clinked their bottles together, then started to plan the whole day. Going back to his arrival in Shibuya, Ren always saw Sojiro as a father figure and even more so when he found out that his actual father had left his family. He appreciated how willing Sojiro was to help him plan the biggest day of his life so far; it took a lot out of him not to hug the man right there.

When the two had solidified Ren's plans, the two shook hands on it, then cleaned the café up. Ren locked up, closed the door, then went upstairs to his old bedroom; it had been left almost the same as he had left it, since they agreed that Ren would be able to stay there, if he needed to. This wasn't common, but both Ren and Makoto were okay with it, as long as he told her where he was. Ren sent her a goodnight text, then drifted off to sleep, thinking about him and Makoto spending the rest of their lives together.

_Two weeks later:_

Ren had been waiting for this day since he asked Sae for her blessing; it's the day he's going to propose to Makoto. He had the whole day planned out down to the timing of when he was going to pop the question; he wanted it to be perfect. He had asked her the previous night if she wanted to spend the day together. She had finished her studies, so she was more than happy to spend the day with her boyfriend. They went to the aquarium, saw a light show at the planetarium, and saw a movie before they headed to their apartment and changed before dinner. Ren told her it would be a fancy dinner for their anniversary, so she came out in a long navy blue dress. Ren was getting into his suit when he saw her walk into the bedroom. He smiled at the sight of seeing her in such a beautiful dress. He knew right then and there that this would work.   
“C’mon, slowpoke, we’re gonna miss our reservation!” she said, teasing him.   
Ren smiled at her and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”   
The two grabbed their coats and walked to the restaurant, which wasn’t far from their apartment. When the two arrived, they were immediately seated next to a giant curtain. Ren knew what was behind it, because it was a part of his plan to make the night perfect.   
The two enjoyed their meal while talking about their favorite parts of the day together.

"Thank you for today, babe. It was amazing," Makoto said. Since she had entered college, she had become more comfortable using pet names for him and started teasing him more, too.

"Thank you for spending it with me," he said, smiling. She had no idea of his plan.

She looked around the room, confused, and noticed they were alone.

"Wh-why is nobody else here?" she asked.

Ren replied, "I guess we just got lucky."

"You must be my lucky charm, then," Makoto said, giggling.

Ren smiled and blushed a little. Her laugh was the most adorable thing in the world to him.

This was all a part of his plan, though. Sojiro's contact at the restaurant reserved an entire room in the restaurant for them. After they finished their meal and were waiting for the bill, the lights dimmed as the curtain moved to reveal a giant picture window, which showed the glowing lights of Tokyo, while soft strings played over the speakers. Makoto was so captivated by the view, she didn't see Ren move from his seat.

He got next to her, bent down on one knee and said, "Makoto?"

She turned around, and was shocked at seeing him, now next to her. He took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.

"Makoto," Ren said, reaching into his pocket. "When we started dating, I said I promise to protect and love you, no matter what."

Makoto put her hands over her mouth, still in shock.

Ren continued, "I want to turn that promise into a vow…” He pulled out the box and opened it to reveal the ring inside. “Will you marry me?"

Makoto, overcome with happiness, replied, "Yes! Yes! Of course I will!"

Ren slipped the ring on her finger, and the two shared a deep, passionate kiss. Both of them were overcome with happiness that they didn’t care how long their lips were locked. Since nobody was in the room with them, they were able to celebrate by themselves. While Makoto was busy admiring the ring, Ren looked at her and almost teared up at seeing her so happy. When Ren asked for the bill, the waiter informed them that the bill had been covered and thanked them for their patronage. Ren was surprised. He looked to Makoto before they grabbed their coats and left for Leblanc, arm in arm, to celebrate their engagement with some of Ren’s best coffee. He had been saving a special brew for such an occasion.

When they walked in, they were greeted by their friends.

"Congratulations!" they shouted, as the couple walked into the café, surprised to see them all.

Ren was shocked, he wasn't expecting this. He looked for Sojiro, but he wasn't there. Then, it clicked.

"Futaba, this was your doing, wasn't it?" he said.

She poked her head from behind Yusuke, smiled, then explained herself to the newly engaged couple. She still had Leblanc bugged with her cameras, which caught Ren's conversations with Sae and Sojiro. Ren and Makoto laughed and walked to a booth.

“Futaba-chan told us about your plan to take Mako-chan to dinner,” Haru said, “so I called ahead and said to send the bill to me. I wanted to make it special for you guys, without having to worry about anything.” Ren and Makoto hugged their friend and hugged her, trying not to tear up.

They went and sat in a booth and everyone gathered around them, just like they had when they were in high school. It felt nice to have everyone still together, after all those years. They all celebrated the couple's engagement by recalling how they met and reminiscing about their endeavors as the Phantom Thieves. They were happy that they were all still friends and that their family would (hopefully) be growing. When everyone else had left, Ren and Makoto were left in the booth, holding each other in their arms. Makoto was still looking at the ring, while Ren had his eyes closed, taking in what it felt like to finally be starting his own family. The two shared a quick kiss, then went back to cuddling in the booth.

“You ready for bed?” Makoto asked, looking up at Ren.

“Sure,” he said, smiling. “You wanna go upstairs?” 

Makoto smiled and nodded. They hadn’t slept up there since Ren had moved in with her when he started college, but they were tired and wanted to snuggle some more. 

When they got upstairs, they saw that Sojiro had left them a card congratulating them on their engagement with a bottle of wine. In the card, Sojiro noted that he wasn't opening the café tomorrow, so they could spend as much time together as possible. Ren grabbed a box from the shelf with his name on it and opened it up to reveal some emergency pajamas he had stored upstairs. The two changed, though the shirt was a bit big on Makoto, then got into bed. Ren turned off the light and wrapped his arms around his new fiancé.

"I love you, Ren." Makoto said before falling asleep

"I love you, too, my Queen," Ren replied, placing a kiss on her head.

The two fell asleep in each other's arms, happy that they could start planning the rest of their lives together.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been an idea I've been wanting to write about since I started writing. I hope you enjoy it.


End file.
